Harman Professional Creates New Corporate Development Role, Names Jim H. Huang To Key Strategic Position

As a signal of the company's intent to grow its business aggressively and efficiently in developed and emerging markets, Harman Professional today announced the creation of a new senior executive position, Head of Corporate Development, and the appointment of seasoned business development leader, Jim H. Huang, to fill the role. Reporting directly to Michael MacDonald, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales and to Greg Henry, Chief Financial Officer, Jim is responsible for driving growth strategies including market analysis, M&A activities and emerging market initiatives such as branding, channel strategy and local sourcing and manufacturing.

Jim Huang will also work with David Jin and M.Lakshminarayan, China and India Country Managers and with Charles Owen, Vice President of Corporate Strategy, to dovetail Harman Professional strategies with the Harman corporate strategy. According to Michael MacDonald, Jim Huang will add a new dimension of focus, experience and commercial expertise to Harman Professional's global business.

“Harman Professional is now well-positioned to grow our business globally by providing our existing customers with new exciting products and new customers with Harman's unmatched offering of performance, integration and value,” MacDonald said today. “With strong product development programs delivering compelling innovations; our step-change cost saving initiative returning strong efficiencies and the global economy showing positive indicators, we believe the opportunity is ripe for Harman Professional to grow market share in developed markets and provide strong value in emerging markets. I am confident that Jim Huang is just the person to help us achieve that growth.”

“Harman Professional is matching ambition with action. We are determined to springboard into a period of continued fiscal growth and to do so we are taking strategic steps to expand our global market presence and to evolve our technology offerings. Jim Huang will be a strong and experienced leader in this initiative and I look forward to working with him during this exciting, positive time at Harman Professional,” MacDonald continued.

Jim Huang has over 10 years of professional consulting experience. Prior to Harman Jim was a lead engagement manager in the transaction advisory practice of Ernst & Young with experience in over 40 M&A transactions with total value in excess of $15 billion. A seasoned transaction executive working with business owners, management teams, corporate and financial buyers and sellers, Jim has deep understanding of key business issues impacting overall profitability. He has supported strategic and private equity buyers in a wide variety of industries including retail, consumer products, construction, high technology, media, entertainment, restaurants, pharmaceuticals, communications, manufacturing, business services, sport franchise and staffing/professional services. He has also supported the divestiture of a number of public and private companies including pre-sale due diligence, seller due diligence and reverse due diligence.

Commenting on his new position, Jim Huang noted, “I am very pleased to join this dynamic, ambitious team at the helm of a great company of innovative products and proven brands. I am confident that the direction Harman is on, will deliver considerable growth in the months and years ahead and I look forward to contributing to that growth!”

At Ernst & Young, Jim provided operational consulting services in the advisory practice of working primarily with The Walt Disney Company. He served as an internal consultant to the company's internal advisory function, which impacted companywide policies. Jim helped develop and execute business process controls review of ERP implementation of SAP, which allowed macro analysis of Disney products and line of business.

Jim started his career in the assurance practice of Ernst & Young working with public and private companies in software, internet, technology, asset management and real estate industries. He participated in a dozen initial public offerings and secondary offerings for client companies.

In the broader business community, Jim Huang is the Executive Vice President and Acting President of the Los Angeles Metro chapter of Ascend, the premier professional organization dedicated to enabling its members, business partners, and the community to leverage the leadership and global business potential of Pan-Asians. Currently, the national organization has over 4,500 members from 150 companies represented.

Jim has a Master Degree in Accounting from the University of Virginia and Bachelors Degrees in Applied Economics & Management and Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University. Jim is a Certified Public Accountant and has passed the Series 3, the National Commodity Futures Examination.

Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com), designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. Harman International maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, and employs more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”